Singapore’s SP Group, an energy utility group, has launched one of the world’s first blockchain-powered renewable energy certificate (REC) marketplaces at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Energy Business Forum (AEBF).

Designed and built in-house by SP Group’s team of digital energy experts, this marketplace enables local and international organizations – regardless of size, business or location in the world – to trade in RECs. Blockchain technology will ensure the security, integrity and traceability of each REC transaction. This will drive the greater integration of renewable energy sources on the electricity grid.

City Developments Limited (CDL) and DBS Bank (DBS) were the first purchasers of RECs through this platform.

SP Group’s Chief Digital Officer, Samuel Tan, said, “Through blockchain technology, we enable companies to trade in renewable energy certificates conveniently, seamlessly and securely, helping them achieve greener business operations and meet their sustainability targets.”

Solar developers such as Cleantech Solar Asia and LYS Energy Solutions, with local and regional solar assets, have signed a collaboration with the SP Group to place its solar assets on the marketplace for the sale of RECs. Katoen Natie Singapore, a global chemical logistics company who will be launching Singapore’s largest single unit rooftop solar facility at a warehouse, has also come on board as a REC seller.

With SP Group’s blockchain-powered marketplace, buyers are automatically matched with sellers, around the globe, according to their preferences. This helps big and small organizations achieve their green targets and strengthens cross-border sustainability efforts with SP’s international reach. It contributes to Singapore’s low carbon targets, as part of its Paris COP-21 agreement.

“We are glad to support the innovative and timely initiative by SP Group to embrace blockchain technology as a platform to accelerate Singapore’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited.

“SP Group’s blockchain REC platform will make it more economically effective for organizations and will catalyze the transition towards a low carbon economy. We look forward to more innovations in renewable energy technologies to achieve a sustainable, affordable, secure and inclusive energy future,” said Mike Power, Chief Operating Officer of Technology and Operations, DBS.

Blockchain is a shared digital ledger that records transactions between users and cannot be altered without changing all other entries. Just as it has been used to decentralize finance, blockchain technology has also played an important role in the growth of independent power generation as it has enabled households connected to microgrids to conduct peer-to-peer transactions, buying and selling surplus electricity to each other. It works on the same principle as cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

Earlier, Mercom reported that Swytch, another U.S.-based blockchain-driven clean energy company, signed a deal with Chuncheon, the capital of Gangwon Province in South Korea, to reduce carbon emissions in the city.